The amount of people who don’t take cover letters seriously is surprising. From an employer’s point of view, cover letters are crucial in narrowing down potential candidates for a job or internship.

While a resume and cover letter don’t guarantee a job, they get you a step closer, by getting you an interview.

Taren Crow, Director of Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Services said, “Cover letters give you a chance to communicate in a paragraph format, which is different from a resume.”

Crow believes a good cover letter is well organized and the paragraphs flow. In cover letters, people can showcase their highlights and skills, show their writing style and tell employers why they are a good fit for the company.

Crow said that they should be tailored to the position you’re applying for and include skills and experiences that employers might look for, why you want the position and how the employer will benefit.

Proofreading cover letters is crucial in the writing process.

“Definitely proofread it, read it over out loud, see how it sounds and then bring it to somebody who has expertise in that area,” Crow said.

It’s a good idea to have several people look over a cover letter. They could be family, friends, advisors or even a college career center.

“We all know the different industries that we work with and we know their preferences for cover letters,” Crow said.

Look out for upcoming workshops from your college career center. Students can also make appointments at anytime.

Another great person to look over cover letters is an industry professional or a hiring manager who looks at cover letters frequently.

“I’ve seen thousands of resumes, I’ve interviewed hundreds of people and I’ve hired dozens of people,” Michael Kaplan, hiring manager of 25 years.

Kaplan gives many presentations to student organizations in major Iowa colleges (UNI and Iowa). Presentation topics range from resumes, LinkedIn, Career Fairs, interviewing and cover letters.

“I’m going to give a cover letter about 30 seconds tops, before I decide it its going to go any further,” Kaplan said.

In those 30 seconds, Kaplan looks for evidence that the student read the job posting, any spelling or grammatical errors and an area where the student makes the case they have the needed skills.

Evidence for reading the job posting or spelling and grammatical errors limits about 30-40 percent of applications, Kaplan said.

If a student can’t convince Kaplan that they’re qualified and can communicate that effectively, then they won’t be considered for an interview.

“The cover letter is really the opportunity for the student to provide their unique value proposition of why I should keep going,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan suggests students have a brief opening, a body with three to five bullet points explaining skills and experiences and a brief closing.

He also emphasized the importance of tailoring the cover letter to the company. In the past, he has received generic cover letters that were sent to multiple companies and received some with the wrong company name on them.

If students want to contact Kaplan or have him present at an organization, e-mail him at [email protected].

Dr. Rachel Azima, Director of the Writing and Media Center (WMC), said that consultants look to see if students are being specific enough, providing enough detail and showing rather than telling.

In a cover letter, Azima thinks students shouldn’t just say they work well in teams, but rather give an example of when they were part of a team for a project.

Azima suggests students include what position they’re applying for, why they’re interested and in the body of the cover letter include why they’d be a successful candidate.

“The cover letter should cover things not in the resume and highlight things that students don’t want employers to miss,” Azima said.

While Azima encourages students to seek help from career services, the WMC is always willing to lend another pair of eyes.

“If students want to brainstorm ideas or just have another pair of eyes to look at their cover letters, we’re happy to do that,” Azima said.

Students can make an appointment with a WMC consultant on their website. Azima said it also helps if the students know what they want to talk about at the appointment.

After writing a cover letter, it’s best to have several different places look over it. Career services, industry professionals and the WMC are all good places to start.